Zohran Mamdani Sparks Uproar at NYC Mayoral Debate With Refusal to Affirm Israel’s Right to Exist as a Jewish State

By: Fern Sidman

In a fiery moment during Wednesday night’s New York City Democratic mayoral debate, candidate Zohran Mamdani ignited a storm of controversy after once again refusing to affirm Israel’s right to exist specifically as a Jewish state — a stance that has come to define his deeply polarizing approach to foreign policy and Jewish communal concerns.

As reported by The Algemeiner on Thursday, the exchange unfolded during one of the final segments of the televised debate when moderator David Ushery asked each of the candidates which foreign country they would choose to visit first if elected mayor. Candidates Andrew Cuomo, Adrienne Adams, and Whitney Tilson answered promptly and unequivocally: Israel.

Mamdani, however, demurred. “I will be standing up for Jewish New Yorkers and meeting them wherever they are across the five boroughs,” he said, declining to mention Israel and emphasizing instead his focus on local matters.

But it was Mamdani’s subsequent exchange with moderator Melissa Russo that exposed the ideological divide between the Queens Assemblyman and the rest of the field. When pressed directly on whether he believed in a Jewish state of Israel, Mamdani responded, “I believe that Israel has a right to exist.”

Russo followed up: “As a Jewish state?”

“As a state with equal rights,” Mamdani replied.

The ambiguity of Mamdani’s answer drew an immediate and impassioned interjection from former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who criticized the statement as a coded rejection of Israel’s right to exist in its current national form. “That means he doesn’t believe in Israel as a Jewish state,” Cuomo declared. “And he will not visit Israel.”

As The Algemeiner report noted, this is not the first time Mamdani has courted controversy over his views on the Jewish state. The progressive lawmaker, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has consistently avoided affirming Israel’s identity as a Jewish homeland and has made support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement a centerpiece of his political brand. Critics, including numerous Jewish leaders, have described BDS as a thinly veiled attempt to isolate and ultimately dismantle the State of Israel.

Speaking at a recent UJA-Federation of New York forum, Mamdani once again evaded the question when asked about Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. “I believe that Israel has a right to exist with equal rights for all,” he said, echoing the same language from Wednesday night’s debate.

His support for BDS and harsh rhetoric regarding Israel have included appearances on anti-Israel platforms, such as a podcast hosted by pro-Hamas influencer Hasan Piker. At one point, Mamdani even vowed that, if given the chance, he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a statement that many observers characterized as inflammatory and dangerous.

The Algemeiner has closely followed Mamdani’s statements and positions, highlighting how his rhetoric has emboldened elements within the city who promote antisemitic views under the guise of anti-Zionist activism. This, at a time when antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed in New York City following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist massacre in southern Israel. The Jewish community, which numbers over 1.5 million in the city — the largest outside of Israel — has reported increasing threats, vandalism, and harassment in both public and private spaces.

Observers say Mamdani’s unwillingness to endorse Israel’s Jewish character is particularly striking given the city’s demographics. “To deny Israel’s Jewish identity while claiming to support Jewish New Yorkers is disingenuous at best,” one community leader told The Algemeiner. “It’s a betrayal of our history and a capitulation to extremist ideology.”

While Mamdani defends his stance as a call for “equal rights,” his critics argue that the phrasing serves as a rhetorical fig leaf, masking deeper antagonism toward the very existence of a Jewish national homeland. In supporting BDS, Mamdani aligns himself with a movement that many U.S. states and lawmakers — across the political spectrum — have condemned as discriminatory and incompatible with democratic values.

The debate over Israel’s legitimacy — and Mamdani’s role in it — is now poised to become a defining fault line in the final weeks of the Democratic mayoral primary. And with a city still grappling with rising antisemitism, voters may view Mamdani’s evasions not merely as a foreign policy disagreement, but as a disqualifying moral failure.

As The Algemeiner report emphasized, the stakes are not only geopolitical but deeply personal for the city’s Jewish residents. In the words of one debate attendee, “We’re not just talking about Israel. We’re talking about our safety, our dignity, and our place in this city.”